Broken Halo
by Lady Crack
Summary: Kinda ItaHina. AU. OOC. A beautiful day just keeps getting worse and worse; starting with a bank robbery gone wrong.
1. Chapter 1

DEDICATION: To Faenea; your real life was the inspiration behind this.

You get to a point when you stop wondering, stop thinking about why. Why it happened and why it happened to you. Some people will claim that they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. That it was all mere coincidence. Regardless, there will come a time when the how and why just don't matter anymore.

BROKEN HALO

The skies were simply gorgeous, the sunrise filled the morning with an array of brilliant colors. With hues of pink, purple, blue and amber, thick beams of light filtering through passing clouds to create a picturesque scene. It was a morning that had people everywhere with a smile on their face, feeling graced to see the rising sun.

Hinata Hyuga sat comfortably on the stairs in the front of the large estate her family called home, watching those sunbeams dance and bathe with the colors of the morning. Her pale orbs took in as much as they could with a joyous sensation racing through her. She was a girl that had always enjoyed watching the sun rise and fall, accepting the simple beauty of nature. This morning in particular was perhaps the most beautiful sunrise she had ever seen.

Closing the lids over her eyes, she took in a deep breath, inhaling the sweet fragrant scent of the gardens her home encompassed. The smile pulling at her mouth grew into a light grin before standing and taking one last glance at the wondrous views of the sky.

It was going to be a lovely day.

"Come on Angel, stop dawdling and let's go."

Hinata glanced up at her sister with a small smile on her face, just as a shadow of a blush crept over her cheeks. She nodded and both of them headed towards the waiting car at the front gates. Hanabi immediately plopped down in the back seat and closed her eyes because it was just too early for her to be awake at the time.

Her sister had been calling her the endearment Angel for years, claiming that she was too innocent for her own good. Hinata was twenty two now, never had a boyfriend, always got the perfect grades, never got into trouble, and was always looking out for others helping anyone that she could. She was as innocent as one could get without going into sainthood. Hanabi felt it was her duty as a sister to tease her endlessly, but in the end, the term Angel stuck. Their elder cousin Neji often laid claim that while Hinata yielded a halo, Hanabi sprouted horns.

Their private driver had dropped Hanabi off at the academy she attended, and just before he drove off towards her father's company Hinata asked him to make a quick detour.

"I'm so-so sorry to delay you Ko, b-but if you wouldn't mind, I need to stop by FireLeaf Bank." Her father had given her instructions last evening after supper to get the papers started on opening a new account with the well established bank for the Hyuga household.

The man nodded with a smile, as he glanced back at her through the mirror, "Of course Lady Hinata, it's no problem, and we are running early this morning anyway."

She smiled back at him and learned further into the lush leather seat of the vehicle, turning to look out from the darkly tinted glass. She frowned as she wished she could roll down the window and watch the views as they drove by, instead of it all being shielded from her like this.

Only her father would have a fit and probably punish Ko for allowing such a thing.

She was the heiress to an exceptionally wealthy man, with strong roots and a long line of proud ancestors. And since she refused to disappoint her father, she would abide by his wishes, even if the lifestyle simply didn't suit her natural tendencies.

Another few minutes and Ko pulled into the large parking lot of the equally large and grandeur building. He immediately parked the vehicle then got out to open the door and offered his hand to her, she politely accepted as he gently helped to ease her from the backseat of the luxury vehicle. She did; however, decline his request to escort her inside.

"I won't be l-long, thank you for-for waiting," she said before turning to enter the bank. He only smiled at her, before taking his place at the wheel to wait for her return. It was his job, but she always made it seem as though he were simply being a gentleman.

The building was old and she appreciated the antique décor, the marble floors and wood-panel walls. She was grateful it wasn't terribly busy; there were maybe five people to address their accounts in some form. Bypassing them all, she found a couple ladies behind large oak desks sitting in brown leather-bound chairs. They smiled at her approach, indicating their invitation for her inquiry.

Two men entered the established bank shortly after her, both with porcelain masks covering their faces and donning long and thick brown cloth robes. She didn't notice them as her steps continued walking towards the women who would help set up a new account.

No, she didn't notice anything until a sudden loud bang rang throughout the building.

Gasping, she turned around, instantly frozen in fear.

-halo-

Silently he rose from his seat, stalking slowly towards the glass windows of his office. Staring out at the crowded streets, he brought a hand to the bridge of his nose. Tension headaches were bothering him more and more lately.

Both everything and nothing went through his mind as he watched people rushing to and fro. What he wanted was a hot cup of sake, almost preferring a bitter blend, something stiff that would eventually relax him enough to get rid of the dreadful headache. His day had yet to begin and already he was craving the wonders of alcohol. Or at least the wonders and reprieve it gave his active mind.

The black hair that was pulled back into a low pony tail was still damp from his shower this morning, making his neck feel cool and moist. He caught sight of his own gaze in the reflection of the thick-paned window, recognizing his own look of disinterest and detachment in the obsidian orbs. He was often described as a cold man, a genius, but cold nonetheless.

Glancing back at the pile of reports waiting for his review on the cherry-wood desk, he just knew that today was going to be a bad day.

Suddenly his office door opened as his little brother came through and spoke quickly to waste as little time as possible, "We gotta go, there's a bank robbery in progress with hostages. Shots reported."

Itachi sighed, just as he grabbed for his Konoha standard-issue police vest on the way out the door. Almost every male in his family served the police force for Konoha, it was in their blood. Itachi was head of the task force; it was his team that everyone depended on in hostile situations. Why? Because they diffused an issue without casualties littering the floor. They worked efficiently together, at times knowing just what to do without being told. They were the definition of the term team and everything it involved.

Sasuke drove the private squad car, with about ten other cruisers blaring their sirens in front of them. Two other unmarked police vehicles followed in their wake, containing the rest of their team. His little brother Sasuke filled him in more about the emergency call and notice of alarm going off at FireLeaf Bank. Apparently, they got the system signal that the alarms went off at the bank right before a phone call came through to confirm the situation.

"Oh, the guy who called in said something about Hyuga, the phone analyst was breaking up; all I got was the name. Nara will call with details." Sasuke said after making a sharp right turn.

Itachi glanced briefly over at his brother, "Hyuga?" Already his mind was spinning, thinking ahead and going through possible scenarios.

Sasuke nodded as they came to a sudden stop in front of the bank. Both brothers triple-checked their weapons, making sure they were secure before exiting the vehicle to talk it out with the rest of their team. Itachi quickly ran through a mental list of things that needed to be done.

They already knew what to do, but he spoke his instructions anyway. "K9 unit, call Inuzuka. Shut the streets down, one block surrounding the building, businesses evacuated. Four snipers from Aburame's team. Yamanaka, keep in contact with Nara at the station for new intel, get the blueprints."

A blonde haired man, Uzumaki, one of his top officers spoke up, "Leaf academy is two blocks away…"

Itachi's voice was smooth as he spoke, as if this was an everyday occurrence. "Lock-down. Haruno, take Sai and explain to the academy officials."

"Itachi, this is the man who called in," Sasuke said, bringing over the tall man.

He was dressed in an all black suit, with a chauffeur's cap. He was clearly a Hyuga that much was obvious just by looking at his pale eyes. Itachi took him behind one of the squad cars and listened as the man quickly talked through what happened. "I was waiting in the car for Lady Hinata, when I saw two men with guns and white masks over their faces walk into the bank. I went to go in after her, that's when I heard the first shot. Then the door slammed shut and it was locked so I couldn't get in. You have to get her out of there, Hiashi will kill me if anything happens…"

Itachi raised a hand, "You tried going in after your client?"

The man nodded furiously, "If anything happens to her…" his face paled even more so before he gulped. "I've always watched over the girls."

He narrowed his eyes, quickly putting the information together in his mind. Chauffeur slash bodyguard for Hinata Hyuuga. She was the heiress to the business tycoon Hiashi, if he remembered correctly, he always remembered correctly. "Is the other heiress inside?" he asked in a low tone.

"No," he said shaking his head, "She's at the academy…wait!" He grabbed for Itachi's arm as he walked away, "You have to get her out of there!"

Before turning to his team, he said with complete lack of emotion, "I will."

Sasuke met back up with him half way, telling him that they tapped into the cameras inside the bank. The tellers and manager were safely behind the bullet-proof shield, but the gunmen had eight people hostage. After opening an email from his phone, containing blueprints of the building, Itachi leaned down to look at the video playing on a secure remote laptop computer. The images made him wonder if the target was the bank itself, or the Hyuga heiress.

Yep, this was definitely going to be a bad day.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own.

A/N: Yes, it's AU. Yes, they are OOC. And finally, yes, I know the story is mediocre. I kept writing and re-writing, but the plot stayed the same. I've wanted to write the Uchiha brothers in the police for a while now (considering that was the role Uchiha played in the anime/manga). I apologize only to Faenea if this fic stinks. T.T

As always, my updates are not review-driven. But I love them, so please let me know what you think. ~Lady Crack


	2. Chapter 2

Hands and lips trembled as one of the men with porcelain masks walked towards her, pointing his gun straight at her head. She was the only other person standing; everyone else had already dove towards the floor. Metal sheets had immediately risen to protect the tellers behind the counter, the door leading outside slammed shut; she heard the click as the locks slid into place.

Chills of absolute fear crept down her spine, paralyzing her. Hinata was just standing there, alone.

She could only watch as he approached her at a slow pace, getting closer and closer.

"What do we have here?"

His voice was thick with accent, from where, she couldn't recall. But it sent a whole new wave of terror washing over her. He reached a hand out, and she whimpered as he roughly pulled on her hair and moved behind her.

Raw tears flowed easily and freely from her wide eyes as sobs started to escape.

"Beautiful girl, you better shut that mouth. I'd hate to put a bullet through your brain."

Every cell in her body trembled as she felt the tip of a gun pressing against the side of her head. Doing her best to hold back the tears and audible sobs, her frame shook as he laughed darkly in her ear. The man forcefully moved her into the center of the lobby, as if she were on display. He had her head tilted upwards, before making her kneel before the other's being held against their will. The other man had everyone else sit cross-legged with their backs against the teller counters.

"Now, everyone better be quiet. I don't want to hear a sound from any of you. If I do, pretty girl will get her head blown off. You don't want that, do you?"

It seemed as though the oxygen she was inhaling burned her lungs, she couldn't get enough air. Her breaths came raggedly and she was feeling faint. Finally, he took the cold metal from her head, as he whispered quietly to his partner. She wished she were brave, that she was smart enough to get out of this.

She gasped loudly as the chilling sensation of hard metal was again pressed against the back of her skull. Every breath stilled to the point of her lungs feeling as they would implode until she took a slow intake, tears stopped coming, and there was only the feeling of that metal weapon pushing into her head.

The next deafening shot sent a ringing numbness through her right ear, it took her a second to realize they _hadn't_ just killed her. Her vision swam as she finally heard small whimpers from the others, though she didn't dare move. Mentally checking herself; nothing hurt though there was still that ringing in her ear. But she was still alive, the blast must have come from the man behind her.

The other masked man whispered, "Where the hell is…!"

The one holding her at gun point interrupted lowly, "Shut up Tobi, watch your mouth."

Silence reigned it seemed forever afterwards. They hadn't demanded anything except silence; it was as though they were…waiting for something. In the back of Hinata's mind, it seemed to her that they were too calm, if they weren't she would have thought they did this on a whim.

But the porcelain masks, the thick body covering robes, their rather calm and confident demeanor made her guess that something else was planned. Were they after her, to use her as some avenue to get at her father and his wealth?

Or was it just coincidence, there was no way anyone would have known she would be here this morning.

She knew she had to keep quiet and think of something she could do to get out of this mess. It was hard to concentrate though when someone has your life in their hands. There was one thought blaring at her, she was ever grateful her sister wasn't here.

-halo-

"Hey bastard, snipers are in place, but no visual," Uzumaki's voice came over the radio.

Sasuke sighed, he really hated Naruto sometimes. "Copy that idiot, stay in place."

Itachi's brilliant mind had already memorized the blueprints of FireLeaf Bank; he found two possible entry points inside. His eyes now were constantly scanning the live feed his crew tapped into from inside the building. The perps were wearing long thick brown robes, covering everything but their faces which were hidden under white porcelain masks. One of them was pacing, and then he'd stop for a few seconds as if he was listening for something. The other man stayed in one spot, standing behind the kneeling Hyuga heiress while holding a gun to the back of her head.

He looked at another camera source, the one recording down on the employees who were locked behind the shields. One of them just picked up a phone. It was only a minute later when he saw the employee knock on the shield, then saw his mouth moving.

Uzumaki whispered quietly to him, "They are going to try to get one of them to come to the door so we can negotiate. They've been in there for half an hour already."

Itachi nodded, "They haven't made a move to get to the money…"

"…and they couldn't get out earlier because of the elite system the bank has, so they couldn't unlock the doors. They're trapped; we just need to get them out before they decide to kill somebody."

Sharp eyes never leaving the screen, he saw before they told him that the robbers weren't going to be cooperative. If anything, it looked as though the two masked men shared a laugh. Something wasn't right, yes the one was pacing constantly, but it didn't look like he was nervous, just moving to waste time; it was almost like a habit for the man. They were either not worried or insane, maybe both; and if that were the case, this situation just become explosively dangerous.

Itachi then hears Sasuke's voice over the speakerphone, "You are surrounded. If you let the hostages go we can talk." He already knew that it wasn't going to work. But it was protocol.

Then something happened.

Watching the screen on the computer he saw the man behind the heiress turn to face directly into the camera filming down on them. Itachi mentally cursed as he watched the man point towards it with his .45 gun. He heard the shot just as he lost the feed from inside, now all they had was the camera on the employees in the back. And they were all panicking.

Glancing away from the monitor, Itachi caught his brother's attention, "Sasuke, say nothing more. We need to get inside; we've wasted too much time. Naruto," the blonde looked over at him with a grin, "We're going in."

-halo-

Hinata jumped in her skin when the third shot rang out behind her, she couldn't help the fearful sobs and tears coming from her, she was openly crying. The others were all holding their ears and sobbing silently to themselves, listening in on the girl crying on her knees.

"Hey, Tobi thinks she looks kind of familiar," the one said.

The one keeping her at gunpoint was silent a moment, taking the time to look at her, "She does."

Chills crept down her spine.

"Who are you?"

Her lips trembled; she didn't think she could even speak.

"Tell us now before it's too late."

"H-H-Hina-Hinata," she stuttered out.

"Hinata who?" the man said pushing the gun harder against her scalp.

"H-H-H-Hyuga."

A slight pause before, "You don't say," he said chuckling easily to himself.

-A/N-

You rock **cheh**, thanks so much for your help with this chapter, you kick ass as a beta!

Wow, I'm simply amazed by the response so far on this fic! Thank you everyone for the comments, I wuvs you! Yeah, this fic won't be nearly as long as SoH, maybe 10 chapters. Not sure yet. I'm just so thankful for the support! Mwah!


	3. Chapter 3

He specifically chose Naruto to go in with him for only one reason. People listened to him. There was just something about Naruto Uzumaki that made people pay attention to what he had to say. He turned most criminals into fast friends, he was that charismatic. Either that or he was just that damn good a bullshitter that people believed him when he said everything was going to be alright. Regardless, it caught perps off guard that a 'nice guy' would be coming in to arrest them.

Itachi needed his distraction.

His little brother was far too hot-headed for a venture like this. Currently, Sasuke was watching them climb up the side of the building, listening for incoming information from their sniper Shino Aburame. If anyone on their team was going to see or know anything first while at the scene, it was going to be Aburame. He knew all, he saw all. Not too mention he was a damn good spy, if he hadn't proved himself countless times, Itachi may have had to question his loyalties. He was the man to step up after the devastating loss to his department.

One of his men was caught up on a lead in a murder investigation, the outcome had gone horribly wrong, and it ended in the death of his own cousin Shisui Uchiha. Shisui was their head-hunting sniper-rifleman, that and a master-mind at manipulation. If he wanted you to do something…you did it, almost like he took control over you. Aburame was great at information-gathering and infiltration and had one hell of a shot; he was the ideal candidate to take Shisui's position.

Focusing on making as little noise as possible, Itachi and Naruto traveled quickly to the roof of the building. After analyzing the blueprints and the two possible entry points, they found the fastest way inside without causing alarm would be through a sky-light window directly over where the employees were hidden away. According to the building layout provided to them, the skylight would be completely out of view from the lobby – meaning out of sight to the robbers.

Itachi was utterly silent as he cut through the thick glass with a laser tool, making eye contact with the employees so that they knew to stay quiet. He lowered Naruto in first, and then waited for Sasuke to come to the roof as well, before going down himself. His brother may be hot-headed, but he trusted few others when it came to back-up. He trusted only a few of his actual team-members, not all of them had earned it yet.

He motioned for the co-workers to be silent and to move quietly, before Naruto backed him up at the solidly locked door. According to Shikamaru Nara, his brilliant lazy analyst, there was a switch that would unlock the heavy door underneath the closest teller station. His finger was pressed against the switch. It was dead quiet, too quiet. He was sure that the masked men would hear the switch when he set it off. After hearing a gasp and then a soft cry, he slowly and firmly flicked his finger.

Then…every dynamic of this situation changed.

-halo-

There was a large clock that clicked the seconds away; each minute seemed to take hours. Each tick seemed to echo throughout the lobby, the momentum going slower and slower. They had been in there for at least forty five minutes now, though it seemed like hours. It was so quiet, just so utterly silent. The men flanked her as they made her stand after discovering her worth.

She felt as though she were so incredibly stupid. Why couldn't she just give them some other name; that would have been intelligent of her. No matter how hard she tried it seemed she would always fail at something. Now that her life was at stake, her all logical thoughts seemed to dissipate.

Daring not to move, her eyes only blinked when they absolutely had to, she commanded her lungs to take small short intakes. But even her breath stilled at the next whispered two words.

The heavier one who had first held the gun to her head said lightly, "Cut her."

If she could have seen the man 'Tobi' and his face, she would have known that he was grinning from ear to ear. He was the one to obey, to make his family happy. And his family was of the organized criminal faction. She tensed as the glint of a knife caught her eye.

Not helping the gasp that escaped her, her eyes watered as he quickly sliced the bare flesh of her arm. First was the disbelief that it was her blood pooling at the now four inch long open gash just above her wrist. Then the burning, the stinging of the raw wound, forced a small cry from her throat. She did everything she could to keep from yelling out, knowing they were just waiting for her to go against their command of silence.

Tears pooled in her eyes, until they steadily streamed down her cheeks, the man who seemed to be in charge roughly grabbed her injured arm, making her cry out from the pain.

So many things seemed to happen at once.

First was the blast, and then came the flying cement and steel from the walls as smoke quickly filled the bank. Her head was pounding, her mind blacking in and out of focus, it had been so quiet before, now it was as though everything was roaring. Her head moved back and forth, she could see the two men were still holding her but she couldn't feel them. A third man, he seemed to come through the very wall that just exploded on them. His mouth…it was moving. He was saying something. She couldn't hear. Why couldn't she hear!

The new man, he was tall, blonde, she couldn't make out the color of his eyes. Focus. She had to focus on him. She had to remember everything. By the way they were holding her; she knew she was going with them. It was a necessity that she recall everything about what was going on. What was the blonde man wearing? Another cloak, it was black and red, some kind of pattern. Her eyes, they hurt, no! she had to focus; she had to keep them open!

It hurt to much to look at the long blonde-haired man standing in front of the fire any longer, she just couldn't do it. There was so much heat, it was so hot now. Why hadn't she succumbed to the blanketing darkness? No, she must stay awake, she must. Willing herself to stay awake, to keep her eyes wide, she again tried to focus on hearing something, anything.

There was nothing, just a ringing alarm sounding off in her mind.

There was a slight movement to the far right; she focused her sight in that direction. First all she could see was smoke, then a tall form emerging, seemingly floating towards her. Then a face came into her line of sight, an angular face, withholding a sharp nose and thin mouth, twin lines drawing downwards from the corners on a set of eyes. There was a man there; he was looking right at her.

The last thing she remembered was gazing into a pair of determined icy black eyes.

-halo-

It seemed as though as soon as he switched the lock on the door leading out into the lobby an explosion rained down on them. It took a fraction of a second for him to realize a bomb had just gone off inside the building. Mentally cursing, he threw a look towards Naruto who was still covering his ears.

Seconds flew by, he could hear the whispers of a fire starting up, could still hear pieces of debris falling. Uzumaki was now looking at him, a fierce glow to his normally friendly blue eyes. Naruto took fragile seconds to look over the holed up employees, before nodding to his superior that he was ready to back him up.

Itachi peered out from the slightly ajar heavy metal door. He could only see the two masked men roughly holding on to the Hyuga heiress. Pulling out his pistol from its holster, he slowly opened the door.

Smoke moved stealthily throughout the building, filling up every space it came across, like long tendrils reaching and smothering. The heiress, she looked faint and confused. He watched as her eyes danced left and right.

That was when he heard a voice, some screeching about fabulous art or some nonsense. He felt Uzumaki shift his stance, and he automatically knew that Naruto was going in the direction of the new voice. He also knew that with the bomb going off, his team would be in here in a matter of minutes, certainly Sasuke already made his way inside.

He slowly and silently made his way towards the two disguised men; he paid attention to every detail offered to him, to every action they made. The way they were handling her, jerking her around. He noticed the blood dripping from her forearm.

Then his gaze caught hers. The heiress was staring directly at him.


	4. Chapter 4

The Hyuga girl was basically screaming out to him with her eyes. Her mouth didn't move, her gaze just implored his own. As if she were searching for something, it seemed imperative for her to maintain eye contact with him. When she finally blacked out, he felt a new determination run through him.

He _will_ save her.

Feeling a presence to his left, he chanced a glance and saw that his little brother was finally at his side. Together they sped up, pistols in hand, if necessary they were ready to make kill shots to save the girl. Teasing the edges of his mind was to check on the other hostages. He needed to get the men unarmed first. He would not fail in this, not with so many lives at stake.

He pulled the trigger twice, quickly disabling the man who just earlier had a gun placed at the back of the heiress's head. Two shots, one bullet in each knee certainly drew their attention. The one who was constantly pacing before seemed to jump out of his skin, screaming like a mad man.

He kept yelling out, "Tobi is a good boy" like it was a mantra. Over and over again.

Itachi knew then that the man was fucking crazy.

"Well then Tobi," mocked Sasuke pointing his gun at the man's head, "A good boy would let the girl go."

"No, no, no! Tobi is a good boy! Tobi can't let pretty girl go."

Itachi's eyes narrowed further, he'd had enough. Apparently, so did the third man that Naruto had been scouting, because another bomb went off inside the building. Maniacal laughing was heard, just as the force of the second blow made both Uchiha siblings hit the floor.

Sunlight from the morning skies poured in through a new gaping hole in the roof of the bank, blinding him for a moment before he gathered his surroundings. The headache he had earlier this morning was nothing in comparison to what he felt now. If he would place his hand on the back of his head, he would find the blood starting to slowly soak his hair. Standing up, he found that Sasuke was unconscious and he didn't even see Naruto.

For that matter, he didn't see the man Tobi either. And that meant…

…the heiress was gone.

-halo-

Always the mediator, Hinata never liked confrontation. When her cousin and sister got into disputes, she had always been the one to get them to apologize to each other so things could go back to normal. As a member of the Hyuga family, she was forced into obliging by tradition and learning the martial arts her family crafted generations ago. She had to face her father, her cousin, even her young sister in spars each day while growing up.

To her, a spar was a fight. It didn't settle well with her to fight against her family. They were _family_, and they shouldn't be fighting against each other. It was especially difficult to face Hanabi, she was her older sister. She was supposed to protect her, not leave her with bruises. And so, often enough, she was the one left with the dark blemishes marring her skin.

Her father thought of her as weak, Hinata saw it as caring for her young sister. It bothered her that her father saw her as a constant disappointment, but she would rather go against his wishes than potentially cause her sister harm.

Yes, Hinata did not do well with confrontation. She closed up, she couldn't think well while under pressure. It got better as she grew older, but she will always be the girl who looked for another way out.

Startled awake as she was thrown harshly onto cold concrete, she tried desperately to keep her eyes open. They stung from the smoke as reality came crashing back to her. This place was dark, barely lit and there was a man there, she wasn't sure if he was one of the men from earlier, but he kept pacing. Only the robe was gone, along with the porcelain mask, just to be replaced by a swirling orange one.

"Do you want some water, pretty girl? Tobi is a good boy, here you go!" With that, the man pushed a plastic cup of water at her, spilling some over the edges.

She hesitantly took it from him, bringing it slowly to her mouth. The relief she felt once the water touched her lips and down her throat was immediate, and she quickly downed the rest of the contents.

Tobi clapped his hands excitedly, "Good, good, good! Okay, Tobi has to go now. But he will be back later to check on the pretty girl."

She watched him disappear into darkness, not even hearing the opening of a door or a seeing a shift in the light. Glancing at her hands, she found her wound was still slowly bleeding, she could barely see in this light. Then she noticed that she wasn't binded in any way. Her hands weren't tied, neither were her feet. Which made her even more cautious, was someone here watching her?

Observe.

She would take her time and study her surroundings, obviously they wanted her alive. How stupid could she be to reveal who she really was? Her honest nature just chimed in and spoke for her; she didn't even think everything through. Her father was right; she was just as pathetic as he thought she was.

She deserved this, if she were truly that weak

No, she couldn't think like that. Shaking her head to snap out of it and observe like she planned, she found she couldn't hear anything. No, that was wrong…there was a small noise there. Something that was…softly purring.

Her eyes widened, she really wasn't alone!

She put her free hands over her ears, but the purring only grew louder. Terrified, she stayed absolutely still, wondering what or who was with her. Tingles crept up her spine, her imagination picturing the worst.

Slamming her pale orbs closed, the vision of twin black eyes stared back at her in her mind. He was an officer, she knew by the uniform, a Konoha officer. He was there for her, to save her. The thought calmed her, if just a little, knowing that someone might be out there right now looking for her.

The purring lessened and she realized that the noise was the blood rushing in and out of her ears. She started to think things through logically, if they were holding her ransom, then they wouldn't hurt her. So she should be safe for just a while longer. It didn't help that she had no clue as to what was going on, or what they actually wanted.

She was just so scared; it was so hard to focus as thoughts kept jumping from one to the next.

Dark fathomless eyes.

She would think only of the man's gaze, because right now, it was the only comfort she found.

-halo-

He had his best covert specialists casing the area. There was no way they escaped just like that, and if they did, they couldn't have gone far. No one just…disappears. There is always a trail. Between him and the men he has working under him, they will find it.

Tobi, the man referred to himself as Tobi, Nara was doing a search now for all aliases with that name and anything else he could dig up on the bombs. They had the guy he shot in the knees apprehended and is in questioning now with his top torture operator. Physical or mental, Ibiki would get the man to talk. There was never any doubt.

It was chaotic after the armed men seemed to vanish in thin air, the bomber and Tobi that is. Three of the hostages were rushed to the hospital with burns and possibly broken bones. An elder worker was sent off because of smoke inhalation. They found Naruto, his face was red and scratched up, but he said he was alright. Sasuke came too shortly after Itachi realized the men took off with the heiress. He himself ignored the dull pain in the back of his head, he knew he was hurt, but he could still walk.

And as long as he could still walk, he was going to find her.

No one…absolutely no one was going to get in his way.


	5. Chapter 5

Hours must have passed by now, or maybe it was just a few minutes. It seemed time eluded her, as she continued to sit quietly still in the damp dark area. With no clue as to where she was, she had no hope to try and escape. They left binds off of her. She was free to move around, though she did her best to stay still. Finally she could make out actual sounds, only she wished she couldn't.

Tobi had stopped by another two times. She couldn't stand it when he was there because of the mask, and the fact that he had been touching her arms, her legs, and her face. His hands were gloved, and he now wore a new robe. It was similar to the tall blonde man that she knew was the one to set off the bombs at the bank. The robe was black with a red cloud pattern all throughout. Tobi was the only one visiting her, but she knew that at least the blonde was working with him, who else, she didn't know.

Every time he left her, it threw her off because he would walk off in a different direction. This last time he left telling her that he was going to be back straight away. He talked constantly, always referring to himself in third person, almost like a child would.

Each time he reached out to smoothly trace her skin with his gloved hand it sent tremors down her spine. Though he was being gentle now with her, he was still the one to run the blade over her arm. She knew his insane behavior was all the more reason to be on guard.

Had they already demanded their ransom?

Did her father refuse? She doubted that, he was a tough man, but still she knew he would do anything he could to get her back. So once again, her life was in the hands of someone else.

"Oh hi pretty girl! Tobi missed you so much; he had to see you right away!"

She had yet to speak throughout this whole ordeal; the only time really she showed her voice was when they demanded her name and when she cried out from pain as the blade cut through her flesh. Maybe she could just go to sleep, but she didn't want to, she couldn't! She knew that it was important to remember everything.

"Tobi will give you a bath in a little while, pretty girl smells like smoke."

Visible shudders ran throughout her body, this can't be happening. Tears again welled up and spilled down her eyes.

The man Tobi jumped radically up and down, holding the sides of his head, "Oh don't cry beautiful!" He leaned forward, putting his orange-swirled masked face just inches from her own face and said in a calm deadly serious voice, "Or I'll hurt you."

The man laughed and stood back up and started pacing again. Hinata did her best to stop the tears, but the new voice that he just spoke in terrified her. It made her think that maybe he was just pretending to be crazy, but why would someone do that? Perhaps he had multiple personality disorder. Gah, she couldn't think straight!

More chuckles escaped the now happy again man, "Tobi doesn't want to hurt pretty girl. Tobi thinks…Tobi likes pretty girl."

Her mouth quivered, and she jumped slightly when she felt his hand suddenly cupping her chin. Her eyes peered up hesitantly, looking into the small hole leaving the man's right eye exposed. All she could see was red.

His face was close again, his voice went back to the calm serious tone, "Yes, I like you very much," he chuckled to himself softly just as his hand placed a long strand of hair behind her ear, "Very very much."

And then he was gone.

Sobs racked her chest; her head was buried in her arms. She just couldn't stop crying, trying desperately to be quiet and stop the onslaught of tears. It took several minutes for her to calm down, all the while her mind concentrating solely on dark eyes. Remembering that man's face was like a lifeline to her, she clung to the memory of him. He was coming for her. He was going to come.

-halo-

Sasori.

That was all they got out of the man before he suddenly died. But the name was all they needed to tie it together. The man must have known that was all they needed to make the connection. Ibiki Morino wasn't really surprised to find the man had, at some point, injected himself with poison to cause his own death. During the interrogation, Sasori basically stone-walled him the entire time.

The now dead robber didn't even flinch when he pressed harshly down on his destroyed knee caps. He only smiled eerily after giving him his most effective mental breakdown strategy. It was creepy.

But Shikamaru Nara was a genius, damn lazy, but so brilliant that his team just put up with his lazy ways. He had two names to go off of, and a brief description of the bomber.

Sasori. Tobi.

It took less than two minutes for Nara to realize they were dealing with a dangerous criminal organization. They were known as the Akatsuki, and the bomber's name was Deidara. They only had intelligence on five members, who knew how vast the organization truly was. The five known were Sasori, Tobi, Deidara, Hidan, and the now deceased former member Orochimaru.

They were identified by the strange cloaks they wore, always the same, black with large red billowing clouds. Their organization was suspected for grand theft auto, murder, several robberies, drug trafficking and now they can add kidnapping to their illustrious rap sheet.

Itachi was…familiar with this group, his team had run into them several times. The investigation his cousin Shisui was heading up and lost his life for, was on Akatsuki. His uncle Madara, lost his life too in one the early cases that Akatsuki was identified of being involved in.

It was personal.

And now the Hyuga heiress, how was she involved in all of this he wasn't sure yet. They had managed to make off with three million unmarked Konoha dollars, and an unconscious adult female and still seem to just vanish. He had Inuzuka and the rest of the K9 unit hunting down everything they could find relating to the girl and the criminal masterminds. They must have wounded her at some point, because it was her blood all over the lobby floor mixing with Sasori's, he remembered seeing it dripping from her arm. Maybe it was a mistake on their part, or maybe they were mocking them by purposely making her bleed and leaving it behind for them.

All he knew was that she was his seventh kidnapping in his career. He found and brought home all of the others to their families, he was not about to lose Hinata Hyuga to the Akatsuki. The look in her eyes, the way she completely focused on him. No, there was no room for error; it was a necessity that he find her.

On his way to discuss strategies with his team, Itachi was interrupted by Hiashi Hyuga. Good, Itachi had questions for him too.

"They tell me you are the one in charge, where have they taken my daughter?"

Itachi's eyes narrowed slightly; obviously if they knew then he wouldn't be here, so he asked questions of his own, "Has anyone called with a ransom demand? Have you been receiving any threats?"

The man stood straighter, he was taller than Itachi by just a few inches, "I always receive threats but nothing when it came to my daughter, do you know who has her?"

Itachi's face remained expressionless and calm, "What kind of threats?" It wasn't uncommon for wealthy men, especially in the cut-throat business that Hiashi was in. To receive threats frequently enough that they just don't mean anything anymore to the man receiving them. Even though they knew who had Hinata, and still Itachi wasn't sure if she was the main target or not, someone could have hired Akatsuki to get at Hiashi. Besides, he doubted there would even be a ransom demand considering they just made off with three million.

The proud Hyuga shrugged, "They have all been thoroughly researched, like I told you, none of them have anything to do with Hinata."

If he were Sasuke he would have rolled his eyes, instead Itachi didn't say anything just merely kept his dark eyes on the man.

Hiashi seemed to take the hint, "Some are from former employees, others from stock and property owners who have the misconception that I have wronged them."

"It's not clear that your daughter was the intended target, we are still questioning the other hostages. I'm assuming they at least knew who she was." Whether or not they knew that going in or found out while holding a gun to her head mattered little. They knew who she was now; otherwise they wouldn't have taken her with them. Itachi turned and caught eyes with his little brother who made his way towards them, "This is Lieutenant Uchiha, he will take all the details from threats you received, give him any names you remember. Anything that may help, give to my lieutenant. He'll go over what is needed after that."

Sasuke nodded, "We'll want to tap your phone lines and get you home as soon as possible in case they call your residence and make their demand. It's been thirty minutes since the last bomb; hopefully they will make contact..."

Hiashi looked especially angry, "…I refuse to have my phones tapped into, now, you Lieutenant will work with my nephew…"

"Sir, your daughter's life is at risk here…" Sasuke interrupted.

Hiashi smirked, "That is why I am sending you Neji."

Itachi walked away at that point, he had no time to spare, Sasuke could handle a Hyuga any day. His pink-haired officer Sakura, flanked by Sai and Naruto quickly approached him with a look that told him they had something vital.

Sakura rushed right into it, "One of the hostages told us that once they found out she was the Hyuga heiress, they started treating her better. We knew they had her at gun-point, but once they realized who she was, they changed tactics. The hostage said that it seemed they were protecting her from something, which I don't understand. If they were trying to protect her, why would they cut her? The man who called himself Tobi left a gash on the heiress's arm. That doesn't make any sense though…"

Itachi shook his head once, having heard enough of her prattling, "Anything else?"

Sai took over with a steady voice, "The press is here. The academy decided to pull the younger heiress away from her peers; they have her with their security personnel for the time being. Sakura and I are heading back if you don't need anything further, so that we can question her."

"Go," quickly the two left, leaving him alone with Naruto. "Take care of the press."

"What's the next move?" the usually vibrant blonde asked with all seriousness.

"We find her."


	6. Chapter 6

Five hours had already passed.

Kiba Inuzuka's canine companion Akamaru had tracked down the Hyuga heiress's scent, then found the discreetly covered sewer drain that it led to, that must have been how they managed to 'vanish' along with all that money. There must have been at least five people working together. Four after Sasori was taken out, who knew what the accurate number was.

Itachi's team was still scouring the sewers but the perps had a good one hour start by the time they found the escape route. Never before did he feel that his team lacked the skills while working a case, they were always efficient and got the job done. But now he was thinking that maybe they just were not competent enough. He felt rushed to find her, he had to get to her, he felt it in his very being, every fiber in his body screamed at him to get that girl.

All he could picture were her pale lilac eyes so focused on him.

Only a few people were still on scene, Sasuke was talking with Hiashi Hyuga's nephew and the chauffeur. Apparently, the two of them were ultimately responsible for the well-being of the heiresses and their security. The nephew Neji was responsible for Hinata's safety more so than anyone else. Sasuke shared with him that the boy seemed intelligent enough to actually provide some assistance.

According to Neji, who had been in contact with his uncle, no phone call had come through yet. So what were they waiting for?

The academy students were let go once the area was cleared and considered safe. The younger heiress; Hanabi, was at home with her father, Sakura reported that she didn't know anything. Just that she was upset at hearing the news about her sister. Hell, she was probably in the safest place right now being at home. Or the most dangerous, if someone was working on the inside. He'd seen far too many corrupt families to believe anyone at face value. Besides, you can't spell families without the word lies.

Sasuke and the young Hyuga male approached him, "We're going to the Hyuga estate to look through Hinata's desktop computer, then Hiashi's. I'll take it to Nara and see what he can find."

"Just let Nara take over control remotely; call him when you get there." Anything to save time.

Five hours had passed since that last bomb. Who knows what they have done to her, at this point he could care less about the money from the bank as it compared little to the life of the Hyuga girl.

-halo-

She was humiliated, she felt utterly defiled and tainted. Sick to her stomach, but she would not give in. She would stay strong, she had to. They were coming for her, she just knew it. That man with the stoic face, he was going to save her from all of this.

As she stood there naked, Tobi slowly dried her off from the sponge bath he had just given her. She was so cold, her body was shivering, and he just kept rubbing the towel and his hands all over, lingering over her breasts and neck. His voice kept differing from serious to the happy childish lilt. Back and forth, his personality kept changing, as he constantly doted on her and complimented her body. It was sickening.

"Tobi loves you! Tobi thinks pretty girl is so beautiful!" he hugged her tightly around the waist, sighing deeply.

Her jaw trembled and her eyes remained closed. She kept her eyes shut to block out what she could. When they were closed, she found herself looking into black eyes. Her every thought stayed with those dark endless orbs as this insane man moved his hands over her flesh.

The man pulled back from his hug on her, his masked face again so close to her own, her eyes remained closed but she could feel it, she could feel him.

Tobi went back to the serious side, "Hmm, I wonder how those full lips taste."

Then she felt the cold hard ceramic of his mask pressing against her mouth. She was still standing and it took nearly everything she could do not to faint or throw up. His still gloved hands held her at bay by holding onto her shoulders.

So cold, it was so cold.

Thoughts of deep lines on an aristocratic face and intelligent onyx eyes, slightly tanned skin, a thin mouth and narrow nose, a face that held the epitome of strength and will immediately invaded her mind. So long had she pictured the image of this strange man she began to fantasize about him, picturing his face against the gorgeous sunrise she remembered from this morning, she could see the gentle breeze flowing through long dark hair in her mind's eye.

A part of her wondered at the sudden fascination and focus on him, she figured it was because it was the last thing she remembered, he was the last one she saw before waking up in this foul-smelling place. She tried thinking of her sister, hoping the thought of keeping her safe and protected would lend her strength.

But she felt so fragile, she feared that she would slip up and they would go after Hanabi instead.

She tried to think of her cousin, the boy she grew up with as her own sibling, Neji. His very presence demanded order most of the time; she wanted to be like him, to have his natural intelligence and talents.

The only solace and peace she found, the only thing she could think of to block out the things that were happening, was to focus solely on a man she had never seen before today.

Tobi lifted his masked face away from her lips and breathed out contentedly, "Pretty girl smells so good, Tobi is a good boy! But he has to go now…" his voice turned into the terrifying calm tone as he slapped her face hard, "…open your eyes."

Shaking uncontrollably, she obeyed him immediately, her teeth ground together in her wide-eyed look of absolute terror. Red, there was only red!

He leaned in closer to her face, "Look at me when I talk to you," then back again to the childish voice, "Tobi loves you, do you love Tobi too?"

Tears sprang from her eyes, not only from the pain of his hit, but the fact that if she said no, he would probably strike her again if not worse.

"Why don't you answer Tobi, pretty girl? Tobi loves you and is taking care of you, don't you love Tobi?"

"T-T-Tobi-Tobi," she whispered out, her voice sounding strange and foreign to her, "is a g-good boy."

"Tobi loves the way you say his name pretty girl! Say it again, please, please please!" he said clapping and jumping up and down.

"To-Tobi."

"Again, again, again!"

"Tobi," her voice trembled as more tears leaked down to drip from her chin. The word burned on her tongue as she spoke it. It felt bitter in her mouth and in her mind. Black eyes. Focus on black eyes. He will come!

-halo-

Itachi was mildly surprised to find the young Hyuga heiress waiting for him at the station. The girl stomped her foot and demanded to know where they were in finding her sister. Then she broke down crying and asked for a mocha frappacino and the softest tissue available. This was all before she dramatically opened the door with _his_ name on it and sat down in _his_ chair.

Heiresses.

"You are Hanabi, I presume," Itachi said, walking over to her, making sure to leave his door open and practiced patience while waiting for her to get out of his seat.

She pouted and then moved out of his way to sit in one of the two chairs opposite him, where she belonged. "You presume correctly, Captain Uchiha. Where's my frap?" she asked while crossing her legs after propping her feet up on the other chair.

He mentally sighed before speaking calmly, "Your beverage is at a local café, say what you want and you can go retrieve it." He had reports to analyze; there was no time to waste on spoiled little brats.

"Well aren't we just sunshine and roses." she smiled sarcastically, before her entire face changed to show him that she was still just a teenage girl who wanted her sister. Her lips trembled just the slightest before she spoke again, "Here is a recent picture, I took it over the weekend," she started sobbing again, "I don't know if it will help but…but I wanted to do something."

Itachi watched the young girl as she stood, her grip firmly holding onto the picture before she handed it to him. He took his time to study the missing heiress. Flawless pale skin and a button nose, cheeks that carried a natural blush. Her hair was long, straight and so black that it seemed to shine glints of blue. Thin, delicate eyebrows shaped large happy pale lilac eyes. Those eyes that seemed to haunt him now were staring at him once again, The older heiress was hugging herself, but smiling fondly at the person snapping the picture, he knew that…but if felt like she was there smiling at _him_.

He avoided the urge to swallow as he laid the picture gently across his desk.

With teary pale eyes, the girl spoke up again, "My sister never does anything wrong, she's perfect." She wiped a few tears away, "She is, she's nice to everyone she meets. She's really shy, but she has the biggest heart I've ever seen. She…I just…I don't know what I would do without her. She's my angel."

Itachi sat back in his seat just the slightest. All the while thinking, 'Hinata Hyuga, where are you?'


	7. Chapter 7

Loudly crying and sobbing as the whip made contact with the swollen flesh on her back, Tobi was yelling at her in his scary voice. But she couldn't hear him, so lost in her crying was she. Finally he stopped yelling at her, reverting back into his more friendly self.

"Tobi is a good boy!" he proclaimed.

"Y-yes, a good b-boy."

"Then why won't pretty girl stop crying!" he asked throwing the whip down and covered his face with his hands, as though he were going to cry himself through the mask.

"Be-because Tobi, it-it h-hurts," she gasped out.

"Tobi doesn't want to hurt pretty girl though! Tobi loves you!"

There was little strength left in her; not even false thoughts of a strange man with pretty eyes could save her mind anymore. Maybe this was realization, she didn't know, she just couldn't concentrate anymore.

"Why does pretty girl want to leave Tobi!" he asked in a very upset voice.

Her body shook as new tears arrived, "I'm sorry Tobi, pretty-pretty girl is sorry."

He hugged her tightly, and she could swear she heard him breathe out in relaxation. He clung to her just as she clung to her fractured mind and heart. She lost all shred of hope with every lash from the whip. The feeling that no one was going to come for her sank in to her mind. If she wanted freedom then she would have to do it alone. Or stay here and continue to be tortured by this man.

No, they will come. That man, his eyes, he'll find her. He had to. He promised her with his eyes!

She could help him; she could do everything on her part to help him find her. She hugged Tobi back slowly, tightening her grip as much as she could.

"Pretty girl, are you okay? Tobi didn't hurt you, did he?"

She managed a frail smile, "I'm alright Tobi, you are a good boy."

He nodded dramatically, "Tobi is a good boy!"

Her breath was feeling shallow, she was still naked, he wouldn't let her dress; she was so cold. "Can-can I please have some water, Tobi?"

Immediately jumping up, he released her and told her that he would be right back, all the while…forgetting the whip that he left behind. This could be her only chance.

-halo-

Itachi looked at the Chief of Police squarely in the eyes, or better known the man that is his father. Sasuke stood directly next to him, both brothers sharing blank looks on their faces.

"You have to be kidding me," Sasuke finally smarted.

Fugaku looked at his youngest son, then back to Itachi, "He's an old colleague of yours, Itachi. He's been working on the Akatsuki case for three years now, been in their ranks for two. It's a short window, but it's the best we have so far."

Itachi closed his eyes, only to see those happy lilac orbs gazing back at him. The look of the heiress's pale eyes changed from happy to terrified and confused in seconds, short window indeed.

"Who is it?" Sasuke asked crossing his arms; it never sat well with him when his father became involved in their cases. But this is now officially a capital investigation.

Hinata Hyuga was Konoha's sweetheart and no one ever realized it until now. There wasn't a soul out there who could honestly say a negative thing about the girl unless it was that she was too shy. She was a quiet girl, stayed out of the limelight. No one knew how much they respected her until now. Itachi's department has had more volunteers for finding her than on any other case.

"Classified information, Sasuke," his father retorted.

Itachi knew who it was, Kisame Hoshigaki. That man was a shark, he was fierce, loyal, and was a complete bastard in college. He was also the closest thing to a friend he had, other than family. They had lost touch once they graduated; now he knew why.

Kisame was a national spy.

"When?" Itachi asked.

"Half an hour, the man named Tobi and another member called Zetsu are with the Hyuga heiress in one of their underground hide-outs. Ten minutes and then you'll have to get out of there, we can't risk exposing information given to us by one of the actual members and lose three hard years of work, the missing money is a moot point right now."

Sasuke was outraged, "We'll take as damn long as we need to save her life!"

"No," Fugaku quickly demanded, "Do you realize how many lives have already been taken for the sake of this investigation? Hundreds."

Regardless, Itachi was of the same mind as his younger brother. He didn't care what his father ordered, they could imprison him after everything was said and done. It did not matter; he was going to save her no matter what. It wasn't about having flawless track records on his part, he just wouldn't accept it if he lost her after being so close to saving her at the bank. He would not let go.

"Get your team together and remember that silence is a necessity. I'll call you Itachi, when you can go in; here is the location of the hideout."

Yes, no matter what, he was going to save her.

After their father left to address the rest of Konoha via the press, Sasuke pressed his brother for what he was going to do. "We still don't know why they took her in the first place. What if we don't get her out in the window?"

Itachi stared his brother right in the eyes with a hypnotic promise, "We're getting her out."

-halo-

Now that she could hear more clearly, she could faintly make out his retreating footsteps. He constantly walked away from her in a different direction, but always came back to her the same way. Was he trying to give her a sense of confidence, or was he not realizing that she would pick up on that? After the sounds of his steps completely faded, and she felt that he was far enough away, she slowly made her way towards the bloody whip he previously used on her.

Her entire frame was sore, and her back felt like it was on fire. She reached it, but then…what was she going to do with it? She couldn't hide it; she still didn't have any clothes on. Looking back and forth, she decided to just bring it closer to the place where he had earlier bathed her.

Shudders returned at the memory of his hands exploring her body, she was nauseous by the time she replaced the whip. Returning back to the last place he left her, she waited patiently for him to return, grateful for the time alone.

For the time to think.

She knew she would be taking a great risk, but she promised herself that she would at least try to help out the man that was coming for her.

Maybe she already lost her mind, telling herself that some strange man she had never met before was going to come and rescue her. Perhaps she was crazy to place hope and blind faith with a man who she shared a mere glance with, but it was the only thing keeping her going.

Whatever gave her hope and confidence right now was what she wanted to concentrate on.

Although, attacking Tobi just might mean her death. Just because he was the only one who came to visit her, didn't mean that he was alone by any means. Others could be there, she just didn't know. But it didn't matter, she had to do something. She wasn't weak; she would prove her father and everyone else wrong.

She wouldn't die here!

Quickly her vigor fell as footsteps again were heard coming closer and closer towards her. Her lips began to tremble again, black eyes, black eyes, black eyes. She had to think of him, think of his dark eyes, she wished she knew his name.

"Hey pretty girl, Tobi was a good boy and got you some water!"

She trembled through her smile, "Th-thank you, Tobi." He liked it when she said his name; that was why he put a whip to her back, because she stopped saying his name earlier.

"Heehee, drink up!"

She did, "It's-it's so g-good Tobi, I really like it."

He stopped his pacing to animatedly clap his hands in a wild gesture. "Oh good! Tobi is so happy!"

The chills eased in his presence for just a moment, "Yes, thank you Tobi."

"Tobi likes when pretty girl smiles, pretty girl should always smile," he said excitedly.

She sent another fake smile, tears again gathering in her eyes, "Tobi, can I ask wh-what's going to happen t-to me?"

He was quiet for a moment; then the moment turned into several minutes. It surprised her when he answered her in his deadly normal voice, "Eventually, I'm going to kill you." After seeing her withdraw into herself and shake all over, he walked away again.

That was when Hinata made her move. She raced towards the whip; he didn't even realize it yet. Before she knew it she was choking him, wrapping the long cord around his neck and pulling tightly. He was screaming but it came out as gurgles, the grip was loose because of the blood, her blood, that coated the cords. He kept twisting and turning, he was too strong for her.

Images of her sister, her father, her cousin, and lastly…the man with the beautiful dark eyes flashed before her.

She lost her grip.


	8. Chapter 8

Itachi was sorely disappointed in his team; he should have checked the fucking sewers himself. He checked the blueprints, trusted his men to report accurate information. It would be a long, long time before his tracking team won his trust over. It was so obvious they should have realized it, instead of walking right past it.

Why would a drain be in a sewer?

Underneath the blueprints of Konoha's sewer tunnels, there should be nothing but rock, sand, and dirt. So why was there a drain in the middle of one of the damn sewers? This was a juvenile mistake, one that he wouldn't forgive for some time.

He had Sasuke and Naruto flanking his sides with Aburame and Inuzuka behind them. It took the forces of Haruno, Sai, and a senior captain to keep Neji Hyuga from coming with them. Unquestionably, beside himself these four men were the most talented when faced with the brashness of danger.

Sasuke and Naruto were serving as the lookouts as Inuzuka, as quietly as he could, lifted the heavy yet loose drain cap. Aburame quickly descended into the depth of the hole, Itachi following behind him closely, and then Sasuke.

"Clear," Shino whispered and Naruto soon joined them. Kiba would stay behind and trail them slowly in case a surprise reinforcement was needed, or if he needed to retreat and call for more back-up.

Sasuke took the lead, as he found himself closest to the smaller dug-out tunnel inside the large hidden away room carved from rock that they found themselves in. How long had the Akatsuki been working to create a vast and complex hide-out such as this? The group must have been together for much longer than originally anticipated.

Itachi followed his brother's example and quickly crouched behind him to make his way through the uneven tunnel. The fact that they had yet to come across either of the two men reported to be here along with the heiress, indicated that the hide-out must be larger than realized. Logically, someone would think one member would serve as the lookout while the other stayed with the target.

He heard Uzumaki and Aburame behind them, which was not a good thing; because it meant that they were making too much noise in such a quiet place. Last thing he wanted was to let the Akatsuki members know they were there.

Suddenly Sasuke gasped as he basically flew out of the rest of the tunnel and, tipping Itachi off that something bad was happening.

When Itachi's vision was clear and he crawled out behind Sasuke, his stomach flipped over in disgust with a foul taste rising in the back of his throat. With what he was seeing, he felt guilty that he didn't get to her sooner.

Sasuke had already flung himself without thought towards the man that was desperately beating on the heiress.

-halo-

She watched with blurry eyes as Tobi slowly walked closer and closer towards her. He was angry, she knew this might happen. Already she had backed up against a wall; still she tried to somehow go through it, anything to get further away from him. Fight. She will fight him, she can fight, her family made sure she knew how.

Tobi said nothing, just kept taking one step at a time towards her.

Her bottom was bleeding; she hadn't even realized how hard she was biting down on it. Mentally she readied herself for the fight of her life, trying to think of things she could do to quickly disable him. But she was weak, only a handful of times had she ever won in a spar.

It didn't matter, she had to do this, she couldn't allow herself to die here.

"I'm so-so-so sorry Tobi…"

"Shut. Up."

Then he launched himself towards her, making her gasp just as she felt the pain in her head as his fist tangled in her hair and slammed her head back into the rock wall. Automatically her hands tried to fend him off. She pulled and strained, but blow after blow kept raining down her face, her head, shoulders, chest and stomach.

Next thing she knew she was being hurdled through the air to land harshly on her hip a few feet from where she had just been. She turned her head just in time for him to land a perfect punch to the middle of her chest, making it difficult to breathe.

She started kicking at anything, blindly blocking herself from his murderous attack, she scratched at whatever she came in contact with. But her consciousness was fading, he was killing her. Her body was weak, tired, and just wanted to rest. Pushing her muscles to their limits, she shoved at him but he just wouldn't move, wouldn't stop.

Her lungs clenched tightly as another huge force crashed into her, and then suddenly she was there alone. Bleeding, broken, limply lying on her back. Her head moved, there were so many sparkles and stars everywhere, and black, so much black.

Blinking, she tried looking again. Black. It was…it was…

Where she found the strength she didn't know, all she knew was that he was there, and that she managed to sit up to face him.

He was there, crouching next to her, looking her over. She forgot completely of her nude state as she pushed herself into him. Openly crying and squeezing him to her body as hard as she possible could, he came for her after all. He was here. She had never been happier in her life to see someone as the man she was clinging to now.

-halo-

Itachi also rushed towards the man recognized as Tobi who was savagely beating on the heiress. He watched as Sasuke flung himself towards the man who was crazily hitting her, rolling them both away from Hinata and starting to brawl on their own.

Immediately he checked for the other member, where was he?

Nothing, he could see or sense nothing. Quickly he made his way to the girl whose eyes had him motivated this entire day, checking her over. She was naked, her body riddled with marks, her face was quickly swelling up, but she was at least conscious.

He caught her eyes taking him in, and before he knew it she was nuzzling her head against his neck as her arms tightly wound themselves around his frame. She was whispering, he couldn't make out what she was saying. Tighter and tighter she pulled herself against him.

His gaze caught Uzumaki's as the boy quickly helped Sasuke who had just pinned Tobi face-down on the ground, then nodded towards Aburame to get something to cover the heiress with.

It caught him off guard to hear her whispered words finally.

"I knew you would come, I knew it." She was crying, still desperately holding onto him. He brought one hand to the nape of her neck slowly, letting her know that he wouldn't hurt her, while his other arm slowly slid around her waist. Then she did something unexpectedly, she giggled.

His entire body froze as the sounds of her small laughter washed over him. The girl was crying and laughing at the same time, she was happy. She was half dead and as happy as could be, he guessed being that close to death a victim should be happy to have their life spared.

"I knew you would come," she kept whispering.

Shino slowly walked up towards them with a brown discarded robe, probably from the earlier bank robbery. Itachi tried pulling away from her to accept the cloth, but she cried out and whimpered, whispering something new.

"Don't leave me, please don't ever leave. Just don't leave me alone, please."

Quickly he placed his arms back around her, not knowing what else to do. He needed to get her out of there so his team could search for the other member. And get her to a hospital.

Shino just placed the robe around her and stood beside them, silently looking for the other reported member. Were they given inaccurate information? Kiba arrived and helped Sasuke lead Madara out to the waiting officers in the sewers.

"Hey there," Naruto said quietly as he approached Itachi and the heiress, "Can you walk, miss?"

Itachi felt her body shudder and still she pressed herself closer to him. He felt more than heard her whisper. He pulled away from her, finally getting a good look at her face. There were several places where swelling was already starting to flare up, she looked so scared too. He'd had several victims look at him the same way she was now, but this felt different. His gut clenched, it was painful to see this girl so broken like this. Her naked flesh pressed so closely against his body didn't even enter his mind, only concern for her.

Naruto and Itachi were the ones to get her through the small tunnel; she was greatly favoring her left side, as though her right hip was injured in some manner. They needed to get her medical treatment as soon as possible. Hinata seemed to only trust Itachi, and the only other male she didn't squirm away from was the ever friendly Uzumaki. But she was still shy towards him, she definitely preferred Itachi. Naruto hoisted her carefully up to Itachi who reached out his hands for her to get her into the sewers. Then he carried her the rest of the way to the waiting ambulance.

He glanced up, watching the ambulance rushing away from the scene to take her to a local hospital, and caught amazing colors of the sunset dancing down over them. It was beautiful. The lost look and devastation on her face tore at him when he told her that he couldn't go with her. She was one case that he would always remember. Always.


	9. Chapter 9

A day had passed, then a week, and finally three months went by.

Overall, she suffered a broken hip, multiple bruises, a serious concussion, and needed several stitches on her back and wrist. It took a week to heal from most bruises and head trauma, three weeks to get the stitches taken out, and a full seven weeks before she could finally walk on her own for an entire day.

A psychiatrist visited her at home twice a week to talk about her feelings and emotions now that everything was over. Still, she had mixed dreams of terror. That and of swimming in the depths of beautiful black eyes at night. It had been three months, and her life was finally starting to resemble some sense of normalcy.

Ko escorted her back and forth to work, walking with her all the way to her office at Hyuuga Corp. before leaving her side. Her sister spent every available minute with her, as did her cousin; although her father still kept that same distance that he always had when it came to his eldest daughter. It was considered a miracle that he even visited her the two times while she was in the hospital; he was a busy man after all.

Citizens of Konoha and the rest of the nation sent her mounds of flowers and well wishes through letters. Some even sending money, all of which she saved up to donate to a charity for victims like herself. For the first few weeks after the incident, the press was constantly waiting to snap a shot of her in the hospital. It grew worse on the day she was released to go home for private physical therapy. Her face and story was the focus of several newsletters, articles, news stations, and gossip websites. Rumors flew that she had been raped, drugged; there was even one awful article out there that said it was all a set-up for publicity. Now that three months had passed by, Konoha finally seemed to be settling down and chasing after new stories. Leaving her, gratefully, alone to cope.

It hurt to sit all day in her office at work, but she was a Hyuga and managed to suffer through. She still felt as though she were a disappointment to her father, her family, but there was little she could do about that.

She thought about him. About the man that saved her life. His name was Itachi Uchiha; he was a well-established captain for the police task force. She wasn't ashamed to admit that she researched him every night, wanting to know everything about him, she even went as far as printing out pictures of him and studying them. He was handsome. They shared at least one familiar trait, both having a younger sibling.

She wanted to see him again, to properly thank him, but she was so shy there was just no way she would go through with it, after all she was borderline obsessed with him at this point. She couldn't just go up to the police station and see him. Or could she? If anything, hadn't the experience she went through made her stronger?

The image of his determined dark gaze never left, it was always there in her mind's eye.

If she didn't know better, she might think that she was half way in love with him. Maybe she was. Or maybe she was in love with the idea of him. Maybe her mind was just fractured enough that she believes anything.

-halo-

His department had never received so much publicity as it had with the Hyuga kidnapping case. In which called for an unusually happy chief of police, a.k.a. his father. Uzumaki and Inuzuka sure ate up the press that lingered at the steps of their department in the first couple days. Everyone else was exceptionally annoyed by the presence of the pesky photogs.

The investigation was still open, but out of his departments hands. The money stolen from FireLeaf Bank was never recovered. The missing member Zetsu still hadn't been found or heard of. The man called Tobi was the biggest surprise though. The man turned out to be his long thought murdered uncle, Madara Uchiha, now he was nothing but a stain to the established clan. Tobi, or Madara rather, had managed to break out of prison; there was still a manhunt out for him. According to documents and interrogations of the heiress, his uncle more than likely suffered from multiple-personality disorder. Great, so there was a lunatic running around out there in the streets of Konoha, associated with the now widely known group of criminals, Akatsuki.

One thing that made him and his team uneasy and cautious, was that nothing was heard from that group since that day. Oh well, no longer his case.

That fateful bad day though, did bring out the crazies in town. Copy cats attempting robbery, a few more cases of kidnapping, only they were all handled easily. Basically, he's been busier now more than usual. He's actually pretty gratuitous about that, because being busy kept his mind from wandering. The questioning of the Hyuga heiress was left to his man Ibiki Morino, so he hadn't seen the girl since the rescue. He knew the injuries she sustained, and that she provided more details on Tobi. Other than that, he didn't know anything.

It was still happening though, and it was becoming a nuisance. He shrugged it off the first few nights, when all he could see was her eyes looking back at him, it kept him from sleeping. But three months later, he still had problems getting to sleep at a decent hour because he couldn't get those pleading pale eyes out of his mind. He would toss and turn at night when he was normally a very still sleeper.

No case, no victim, hell no woman for that matter, had ever affected him like this before.

Itachi, uncharacteristically, let out a small sigh before standing up to look out of his office window. He wasn't a man of habits, but this was one of them, watching people going place to place, rushing to get somewhere. It calmed him at times, odd.

Maybe he should have checked in on her while she was still in the hospital. But why would he? He had no reason to. He had never been a man that went out of his way.

Turning around to get back to work, his eyes immediately caught sight of the very girl occupying his thoughts. He straightened as he watched a small blush illuminate her cheeks; apparently, she was just about to knock on the frame of his door.

"Itachi," her blush grew brighter and she pushed her two index fingers together, "I-I mean Captain Uchiha."

His face remained impassive as he took in the sight of her. The pale eyes he was so familiar with were looking worried and a little embarrassed. Her hair was straight and shiny, hanging long down her back, her face bruise free. She looked so different than the last time he saw her, some of the guilt of not getting to her faster eased away. She looked good, healthy and …beautiful.

"U-um, I d-don't know if you r-r-remem-remember me um, I…"

"I remember you, Hinata," his own voice sounded hoarse to his ears, "How are you?"

She seemed to relax some, she even sent him a small smile, "I'm good."

He nodded his head once, taking a slow step in her direction. "That's good."

She smiled and then again with another blush, how fascinating, "U-um I," she tilted her head to stare briefly at his hardwood floor before glancing back up at him again rather bashfully, "I wanted to s-stop by a-a-and thank you."

His own head tilted slightly to the side, "You're wel…"

Sasuke suddenly came up behind Hinata, Itachi watched his little brother's face as he finally recognized who she was. Sasuke's eyes widened just slightly before sending her a very small smile (very un-like him) and asking how she had been holding up.

It actually bothered him that Hinata seemed to be talking easier with his brother, with him she seemed to be all nerves. Perhaps Uzumaki was right, maybe he was too intimidating.

"So, what are you doing here, Miss Hyuga?" Sasuke asked as he folded his arms across his chest and leaned against his open door.

"Oh," she blushed again and looked at Itachi, "I wanted t-to take your bro-Captain to l-lunch…to thank him f-for…for."

Itachi noticed she couldn't say it, the memory was still to raw for her. So again, he saved her, "I am free now."

By the bright smile that lit up her eyes, Itachi decided that he didn't mind saving the heiress. No, he didn't mind one little bit.

-halo- *TIME_SKIP*

"And the halo that was once broken slowly started to heal and mend; with the help of your grandfather, of course," Hinata whispered to her eldest grandchild as she tried to get her to sleep.

"Wow, really Granny Hina? Papa Tachi sounds so cool," her five-year old face brightened.

Hinata giggled, "Oh he was, he has saved my life everyday it seems."

The young girl looked confused, "But Granny Hina, how can he still save you if he died?"

Suddenly choking back tears with the reminder at the loss of her soul mate, Hinata smiled brightly as she said, "Because Hanali, I still think of him. I still see his dark eyes as I sleep at night. And you know what?"

Little Hanali shook her head, making the small tufts of dark curls twirl about her pillow, "What?"

A tear rolled down her cheek, "He's still there, every night, watching over me. And…he's watching over you, your brothers, and all your cousins too!"

"What about daddy?"

Hinata nodded, "Yes, he looks after all of us Hanali, and he always will."

That night, closing her eyes as she rest against the pillow. The vision of beautiful and endless dark pools called to her, and Hinata sent him his favorite smile, as he welcomed her home in his arms.

Where she always felt safe.

-A/N-

_Once again, this, in its entirety, is dedicated to _**Faenea**. And a special thanks to **cheh **- just for...everything.

Thank you everyone for all the support and feedback on this wee short story. My first complete fic! Woohoo!

Hmmm...what next? Signing out, ~Lady Crack


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